PROVIDENCE – Fourteen farms across the state received a total of $256,000 in agricultural energy grants to support their renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, Gov. Daniel J. McKee announced Friday.
“Our farmers provide Rhode Islanders with fresh, nutritious foods and local products,” McKee said. “It is important that we continue to support these small businesses through their clean energy transition by providing them with the assistance they may need.”
The grants are funded through Rhode Island’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, the nation’s first mandatory, market-based cap-and-trade program to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide from the power sector.
The projects that received funding are:
- Bailey Beattie Apiaries: $20,000 for a 6.4-kilowatt solar photovoltaic array that will generate enough electricity to cover the energy used to process and package the various honey-related projects at the family-owned apiary in Warwick.
- Barrington Farm School: $7,176 for a solar photovoltaic add-on project that will offset increased electricity consumption at this community farm in Barrington since they first installed solar in 2018. BFS runs a farm stand and a community composting program, offering educational programs and public service opportunities to the public.
- Bramblenook Farm: $20,000 for an 8.4-kilowatt ground-mounted solar photovoltaic system that will cover all the electric load generated at this farm in Scituate, which continues to provide locals with healthy and affordable produce.
- Breene Acres Family Farm: $20,000 for a 7.15-kilowatt solar photovoltaic array that will produce enough energy to cover the current electric load at this family-owned poultry farm in West Greenwich.
- Burgess Homestead: $20,000 for a 4.64-kilowatt solar photovoltaic add-on project that will help the owners of this historic farm in Foster to restore and expand their operation after installing several energy-efficiency measures on the historic farmhouse. Built in 1820, Burgess Homestead serves as an example that the historic integrity of old structures does not need to be compromised by energy-efficient and renewable upgrades.
- Hoofprint Farm: $20,000 for a 6.4-kilowatt solar photovoltaic array that will cover an estimated 63% of the current electric usage at this 9.5-acre flower farm in Foster.
- Little River Farm: $20,000 for a 13.6-kilowatt ground-mounted solar photovoltaic system that will help the owners reduce their carbon footprint at this no-till organic produce farm in Warren.
- Matunuck Shellfish Hatchery: $20,000 for a 31-kilowatt solar photovoltaic array that will offset electricity usage at the hatchery in South Kingstown, where shellfish native to New England and Rhode Island are grown and harvested for consumption at Matunuck Oyster Bar.
- Ocean State Honey: $20,000 for a 4.16-kilowatt solar photovoltaic array that will generate enough power to offset the electric loads used to process and package honey and beeswax-based products from 10 different hives located in Rhode Island.
- Skye Pechie: $20,000 for the installation of energy storage paired with solar that helps to enhance climate resilience measures in the event of a power outage at this subsistence farm in Scituate.
- Southside Community Land Trust: $12,483 for the installation of a ductless heat pump system that will provide significantly more efficient heating and cooling, which is home to six separate mixed vegetable market farming operations that work together to manage the property, in cooperation with the Southside Community Land Trust in Providence.
- Stony Brook Farm: $20,000 for an 8.1-kilowatt solar photovoltaic array that will meet 100% of the existing electrical needs for crop irrigation and refrigeration purposes at the berry farm in Exeter.
- Watch Hill Farms: $20,000 for a 15-kilowatt solar photovoltaic array that will offset 95% of the total energy used at this historic farm in Westerly, raising honeybees, laying hens and garden produce for wholesale to various retail outlets and local restaurants.
- Water Way Farm: $16,047 for the installation of a mini-split heat pump to replace traditional air conditioning units at this women-owned lavender farm in Barrington, which will dramatically improve the efficiency of heating and cooling.
